While the winter weather that walloped Vancouver Island throughout the weekend didn’t hit ‘ludicrous’ levels, the snow and cold weather did break some records, according to Environment Canada.
Armel Castellan, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the weather agency said while the storm system which struck the Island the past few days “doesn’t happen very often,” there was a precedent set.
On Feb. 13, the Comox weather station saw 16 cm of snow; on the same day in 1923, the area saw 25.4 cm. of snow. However, those north of the Valley in Campbell River can lay claim to some record-setting days throughout the weekend.
On Friday, Feb. 12, the area broke a record with 8.8cm of snow. Despite receiving 11.6 cm on Feb. 14, the region fell short of the 35.6cm which fell on the same day in 1954.
Additionally, Campbell River also broke a cold weather temperature record of -7.4 C on the same day, explained Castellan.
While many people in the region were hoping the weekend weather was a last blast of winter, he warned Islanders to not put away the shovels quite yet.
“Climatologically speaking, we’re on the up and up. This time of year, there is an increased sun angle so it has such a big impact; we’re on our way to spring but we’re still a bit below normal.”
Castellan said the next few days will have lows above zero, with some precipitation set to come into the latter part of the week. Additionally, he is tracking a large rain event Sunday and Monday, where temperatures are predicted to return to seasonal levels.
Beyond that, he warns that temperatures could again return to at or below normal, with a potential for snow later in February or into March.
“What we saw here was a nation-wide polar vortex, but we got off pretty easy compared to the rest of the country. What we do have going forward in terms of a cold snap is a northwesterly flow. There’s the old adage that you just can’t trust them.”
photos@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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